• The addition of the financial-tech centered accelerator Six Thirty and the GlobalHack program both contributed to startup excitement in late 2013.

• In the final quarter of the year, we saw the emergence of Techli.com’s Domain Tech Report, a weekly show that highlights companies and stakeholders in the St. Louis startup scene. Efforts like this, along with the St. Louis Business Journal’s TechFlash, and others, have shown that local media is starting to pay attention to the happenings in the entrepreneurial community.

• The JOBS Act has also had an effect on local startup activity. Changes in regulations with respect to how startups can solicit investment have led to the creation of the iSelect Fund and other opportunities.

­• Among the most exciting announcements of the year was the upcoming opening of the Cambridge Innovation Center in the CORTEX district and T-REx finding a permanent home in the heart of downtown St. Louis on Washington Avenue.

• The creation of LaunchCode in the later half of 2013 made a big splash as well. LaunchCode aims to attract and build a significant software engineering talent base in St. Louis so we can continue our exponential growth.

In the past, companies like Twitter or Square have had to leave St. Louis because they could not grow or thrive due to a lack of resources.

A paradigm shift has begun, and St. Louis is quickly becoming a place where companies can not only start, but also find seed funding, support, facilities and talent to grow and succeed in St. Louis.

With my newest tech startup, PushUp Social, poised for aggressive growth, I’m looking forward seeing the St. Louis Community achieve this goal in the near future.

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